Chapter 1

Just after transferring schools, the popular girl Valerie came crying to the teacher, claiming I was mentally disturbed and had been secretly photographing her in the women's restroom.

When the Dean of Students arrived, she pointed at my backpack and cursed:

"Pervert! You were definitely lurking around the bathroom entrance acting suspicious, and your phone must be full of photos!"

"I could feel it! Your camera lens was pointed right at me the whole time, it's disgusting!"

The students around me started whispering and pointing.

"This kind of creep should be expelled immediately!"

"He looks so honest and harmless, but turns out he's a voyeur!"

Facing the collective accusation, I unzipped my backpack and pulled out an old Nokia phone that could only make calls.

"Teacher, please tell me—how exactly could I take high-definition photos with a phone that doesn't even have a camera?"

I held up the Nokia that looked like a brick, its screen still showing the Snake game interface.

Instant dead silence all around.

The Dean of Students pushed up his glasses, the fat on his face quivering slightly, clearly not having expected this outcome.

Valerie was the first to react.

"You must have another phone!"

She pointed at my nose, her voice shrill.

"You deliberately pulled that one out to deceive people! I've seen plenty of people like you! Acting honest on the surface, disgusting on the inside!"

The tall guy beside her, named Garrett, the captain of the school basketball team, stepped forward aggressively.

"You hear that? Hand over your other phone! Or don't blame me for getting rough!"

I looked at him calmly, even holding the Nokia closer to his face.

"This is my only phone."

"Bullshit!" Garrett slapped my hand away, and the Nokia fell to the ground, but its screen remained stubbornly lit.

"Search him! Dean! This scumbag needs to be searched! He must have hidden the phone on his body!"

The Dean of Students frowned, clearly feeling the situation was getting out of control, but seeing Valerie crying so pitifully, his balance obviously tipped.

"Young man, to prove your innocence, please cooperate."

"Take out everything from your pockets yourself."

The murmuring around grew louder.

"Exactly, if you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of?"

"Hurry up, don't waste everyone's time."

I ignored those voices, just looking at Valerie.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand while peeking at me through her fingers.

In front of everyone, I began emptying my pockets.

Left pocket: a set of keys, some loose change.

Right pocket: a pack of tissues, half an eraser.

I spread my hands open, looking at the Dean of Students.

"Teacher, that's everything."

Valerie's crying stopped. She looked at me in disbelief.

The air fell into awkward silence again.

I broke the silence.

"Valerie, can you prove my innocence now?"

I paused, looking into her eyes, asking word by word.

"Shouldn't you apologize for your false accusation?"

Apologize?

Those two words were like a spark, instantly igniting Valerie.

She looked as if she'd heard the world's greatest joke, then her face went pale, her body swayed, and she fell backward limply.

"Valerie!"

Garrett caught her with quick reflexes, shouting in panic.

Valerie lay in his arms, eyes tightly closed, brows furrowed in pain, murmuring:

"So scary... he's so scary..."

The Dean's face changed drastically, immediately rushing over.

"Quick! Get her to the infirmary!"

He directed Garrett, then turned to glare at me.

"What's wrong with you as a student? You made a classmate faint! You have no compassion at all!"

He pointed at my nose, his voice full of reproach.

"This matter ends here! Don't bring it up again! You—come to my office this afternoon and write a self-criticism! Reflect on your words and actions!"

With that, he hustled away with the "unconscious" Valerie and the furious Garrett.

The crowd dispersed, leaving only me standing there.

On the ground, the Nokia's screen was still lit.

No apology came, replaced instead by a self-criticism assignment.